Maximize Your Muscles

Published in the newsletter on 1/2/2020

Welcome to the 3DRunner team!  Please email me if you have any questions!

I have to say, I already love this year. For those of you who may not know, I LOVE even numbers. The fact that 2020 is even and has "round curves" makes me so happy!

For 2020, I'll be implementing a new concept (new to me) which I started testing with my clients at the end of 2019. What is this concept? While performing strengthening exercises, think about the muscle action not the movement. What does that mean? Focus on giving the muscles instructions on how to work instead of giving the muscles the end result. It's about the journey, not the destination! You might have noticed in my Instagram videos, I started giving instructions by having you visualize what the muscle does. For example, in bicep curls "Bend your elbows while visualizing the muscle shortening from the front of the elbow to the shoulder. " Traditionally the instruction is put simply as "Bend your elbow."

What is wrong with just "bending the elbow"?

"Bending the elbow" is not giving your muscle activation enough focus. Sure, there is muscle contraction when we "bend our elbow". However, by PROVIDING CLEAR DIRECTIONS OF HOW THE MUSCLES WORK you improve connectivity from your brain to your nerves then to your muscles.

What do I propose?

I want you to tell your muscles how to contract, provide them clear instructions on how to achieve the motion you're after. This enhances your brain connection from the nerve to the muscles by giving it a clear pathway to the muscles. You wouldn't tell a friend to meet you at the mall without a map or specific instructions (having them Google Map it). Think of this as providing your muscles a map. This helps develop proper nerve pathways to train the muscle to perform the movement with greater ease. As the movement gets easier, different variables can change, like speed or increasing weight. While working on this movement really think about how your muscles contract to attain the action you're trying to achieve.

In the clinic, I often hear therapists and trainers tell patients to squeeze their glutes during a squat. I have witnessed the lackluster results of "squeezing the glutes". Most of the time, the feedback is "I kinda feel it." Simply put, "squeezing the glutes" doesn't give the appropriate signal to the nerves to activate the muscle. What do the glutes do while squatting? As you squat down, the glutes stretch away as the hip bone rolls away from tailbone. To stand, the glutes contract as the hip bone moves back towards the tailbone. Making this connection while engaging the contraction will increase the ability to utilize and engage the proper muscle activation.

Why is this important?

Training your nerves to fire to the muscles is how you will get stronger and improve efficiency muscle recruitment patterns. The muscles can't function without nerves. When you provide instructions to the muscles, you're building bigger and creating more wiring from the brain to your muscles. This will carry over from your strengthening program to your running. The muscles will be able to control the movement vs the movement causing a muscle response. 

TRY IT

Stand and squat without thinking about the muscles. Now, squat with the visualization that your glutes are stretching while squatting down and contracting from the hips towards the tailbone as you stand up. You can try the same cues with bicep curls. Do you feel a difference? This can be the difference in achieving your next PR, or avoiding that pesky injury!

Please email me at info@3-drunner.com or DM on Instagram @3DRunner if you have any questions or suggestions for me.

Janet Yiu, PT, DPT, OCS, FAFS

3DRunner.... Run Free from Injury.